Which is better - Photoshop or Illustrator?

Launched in 1988, Photoshop has become the one and only program for many designers today. It was originally created as a tool for photographers to edit and manage their photos – and for many people, this remains its primary use. However, due to the vast array of tools available, Photoshop is now so much more than this.

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Illustrator started its life a little earlier than Photoshop in 1987 and was primarily created for the typesetting and logo areas of graphic design. Illustrator is now seen as a tool for both graphic designers and digital artists to create many different types of digital products. Both are now part of Adobe's powerful Creative Cloud (opens in new tab) suite.

But which is better for specific tasks – and which is better overall? Obviously, the answer will depend on the specific situation, but here I'll lay out a broad overview of which tool I think generally works best in which case. If your experience differs, please share your views in the comments below the article!

Which is better for logo design?

Using Illustrator means your logo will be a vector object which is not part of a bitmap

While both programs here 'can' create a logo, you need to think about maintainability and uses of your logo. While its initial sizes may be predefined a logo needs to be resized and reshaped accordingly as it's likely to be used many times on many different materials.

A bitmap graphic created in Photoshop cannot be resized without pixilation or loss of quality. With that in mind, using Illustrator means your logo will be a vector object which is not part of a bitmap. Meaning it can be reshaped and resized while retaining all of its quality. Photoshop does have a place in logo design but for the most part, Illustrator should always be your first choice.

WINNER: Illustrator

Which is better for web design?

As Photoshop graphics sit on a pixel based bitmap it seems the obvious choice for designing for screen media

For many designers (including myself) Photoshop is usually the first choice here. As Photoshop graphics sit on a pixel based bitmap it would seem like the only choice for designing on screen media.

However, when designing user interfaces, Illustrator can provide many advantages that Photoshop cannot. Firstly, using Illustrator here makes the job a lot faster - there's the obvious resizing points. Illustrator is also great for creating reusable components. Using the symbols panel in Illustrator, you can create a library of icons and form elements that can be reused and manipulated many times over.

More consistent

This not only speeds up your workflow but will also make your design more consistent. Also, as we're moving into a more responsive and agile web, we'll be seeing the need for resizable graphics more (ie. SVG & pixel fonts). If we're making considerations for our websites to be consistent across many different sizes, our websites’ graphics should surely follow suit.

For the most part, Photoshop is still the winner here, but only just. I wouldn't rule Illustrator out completely. Quite often Illustrator is always a part of my workflow in designing UIs but most of the work is done in Photoshop.

WINNER: Photoshop

Which tool is better for digital art?

Illustrator is best for clean, graphical illustrations while Photoshop is better for photo based illustrations. Photo by VFS Digital Design.

While Illustrator may seem like the obvious choice here, it all depends on the type of illustration. Illustrations usually start their life on paper, the drawings are then scanned and brought into a graphics program to colour. As mentioned earlier, with Illustrator we can create clean, extendable graphics, many of which can be easily reused.

Illustrator would be my recommendation for clean, graphical illustrations. Whereas I would recommend Photoshop for photo based illustrations that require very thorough detail and photo manipulation. For many cases, most illustrators would use a mixture of both, it all depends on what type of illustration you're creating

WINNER: Draw

Which tool is better for sketching and wireframing?

Illustrator is a lot easier to use to create wireframes quickly

This is the skeleton like blueprint in which almost all designed entities begin their lives. Usually, a pen and paper is everyone's starting point but many digital creatives will just jump into a graphics editing program and start sketching in there.

Effectively you could do this in either program but for me, Illustrator is a lot quicker and easier to use for this task. The ability to easily resize, manipulate and reuse elements quickly is crucial when creating wireframes.

WINNER: Illustrator

There is no winner! While I've done my best to metaphorically create a competitive fight between the two programs, the bottom line is it all depends on what you're trying to create and how you work.

Having a solid understanding of both Photoshop and Illustrator is essential for most designers, whether a web designer, graphic designer, fashion designer, illustrator or any other type of digital creative. Knowing these programs well is going to ensure you choose the best program for the task and create the best possible output.

Many designers will have a preference over which program they prefer to use but that should never come in the way of producing the best possible creation, whether in regards to usability or aesthetics. What is the most important is that you make it your responsibility as a designer to know BOTH programs and know them well.

Key info

Photoshop

Graphics : Raster

: Raster Current version : Photoshop CS6

: Photoshop CS6 Popular tools : Brush, healing, type, clone stamp, blur, image adjustments and filters

: Brush, healing, type, clone stamp, blur, image adjustments and filters Used by: Designers, artists, photographers, film and video professionals, and illustrators.

Illustrator

Graphics : Vector

: Vector Current version : Illustrator CS6

: Illustrator CS6 Popular tools : Pen, blend, warp, mesh, type, pathfinder, and masks

: Pen, blend, warp, mesh, type, pathfinder, and masks Used by: Designers, artists, illustrators, animators, publishers, film and video professionals.

Words: Jason Cianfrone (opens in new tab)

Jason Cianfrone is a designer and developer at multi-award winning London based web design and online marketing agency Base Creative (opens in new tab).

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Benefits Of Studying Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a software application for creating drawings, illustrations, and artwork using a Windows or macOS computer. Illustrator was initially released in 1987 and it continues to be updated at regular intervals and is now included as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design program developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, the development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to monthly or annual subscription service delivered over the Internet).

Roles and Responsibilities

Combining hand-drawing and painting with digital media to create complete illustrations

Refining designs with illustration software

Using various colors, graphics, and effects to better convey each concept.

Adobe flex Illustrators use their creative skills to create original images for a range of printed and digital products.

Benefits of Studying Adobe Illustrator

It gives high-quality Product

Adobe Illustrator is used for creating a variety of graphics you can produce logos, detailed illustrations, web page designs, and many more. Adobe Illustrator is a flexible program that is able to give high-quality outputs. Creating and editing objects are easy with Illustrator. It is indeed truly suitable for graphic designers.

You can freely express ideas

With Adobe Illustrator, you can create designs. You have the opportunity to create anything you want to make with the tools in Illustrator. All original artworks using vectors can be done in Illustrator which puts logo designing first in line. Using the pen tool, you can create shapes for your logo. Your logo will also have an isolated background making it easy for you to use it anywhere you want. You can choose great colors that are appropriate for your logo.

You can draw infographics

Infographics show statistics and figures that are published in newspapers, magazines, posters, and websites. You can perfectly create them in Illustrator. You can create graphs and pie charts by simply entering data and figures. You’ll surely easily finish your infographics with this program.

You can save vector EPS files

Another advantage of using Adobe Illustrator is the ability to save the file as EPS. EPS files make it easy to print sharp outputs. You will be ensured to have a good-looking logo or detailed art for brochures and posters. If you print signs or vinyl graphics, you would need to save it as EPS, too.

Job Opportunities

Career Advancement

Increased Earning Potential

Skills You Will Gain

Some of the skills you will gain include:

The Benefits of Adobe Illustrator For Photoshop Users

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are both excellent design and editing tools for photography but they’re quite different in some ways.

What are the major benefits of adobe illustrator for photoshop users?

Photoshop excels in color management and manipulation, while Illustrator is a specialist in drawing illustrations and creating graphics for the web.

Adobe Illustrator is easier to learn than Photoshop and is feature-rich. It can also be confusing for beginners due to the array of tools and features available.

Illustrator also comes with a variety of graphic elements that are difficult to work with and manage. This program can be mastered with a bit of education and experience.

Adobe Illustrator is a great tool for creating logos or images, as well as designs for a variety of sizes and media types.

Vector images are important because logos can be used on multiple surfaces.

Adobe Illustrator is also using different formats than Photoshop which is essential to be aware of if you’re using it for work that’s intended to be printed.

Illustrator allows users to combine shapes into one file, which allows for more creative possibilities.

It’s compatible with numerous devices, including iPads as well as Macs.

The benefits of this program surpass its basic editing capabilities. Whether you need to create logos, websites or an icon, you can create the style you’re seeking with Illustrator.

How Important Is Adobe Illustrator For Photoshop Users?

Illustrator is a fantastic tool for creating logos, brochures, and posters. It isn’t as versatile and adaptable as Photoshop, which allows users to edit and save images in a variety of file formats.

Adobe Illustrator is faster and offers more tools for working with existing logos and typography. The pen tool in Adobe Illustrator is, for instance, simpler to use than Photoshop’s lasso tool.

Adobe Illustrator is different from Photoshop because it produces vector graphics, not pixels.

A vector is a combination of two points linked by computer algorithms.

This means that your image will not look blurry or pixelated, regardless of whether you’re using an alternative size for your printout.

Illustrator is a fantastic tool to retouch and add aesthetics to your artwork.

Illustrator can also be used in conjunction with other Adobe programs like InDesign, XD, and Premiere Pro.

You can edit and animate designs with its powerful features. However, it isn’t equipped with some capabilities for marketers and cannot directly post to social media sites.

Illustrator can also edit images created in Photoshop. Its drawing tools are much more sophisticated. The application supports a variety of formats for video and audio.

This means that Illustrator users can seamlessly edit Photoshop images on smartphones and tablets.

The unique tools allow users to combine elements from multiple images and mix multiple layers for an ultimate product.

What Adobe Illustrator Is Used For?

Adobe Illustrator is a drawing program that was initially developed for the Macintosh operating system.

Adobe later supported on other platforms but stopped their versions because of the negative reception from the market.

Illustrator for Windows was released in the beginning of 1989, but the initial release was criticized as being too similar to Illustrator 1.1 and was not compatible with CorelDRAW.

Adobe Illustrator Or Photoshop

Both Illustrator and Photoshop offer a variety of features. Each feature has its pros and pros.

For the most part, Photoshop offers a more user-friendly interface and is better suited in document design, whereas Illustrator is better suited to editing photos and image editing. Photoshop has a wider range of features including retouching and color management as well as blemish removal.

Illustrator is more complicated and requires a higher degree of expertise.

What Does Illustrator Do That Photoshop Doesn’t?

Illustrator and Photoshop are two image editing programs however, they perform different things.

Illustrator uses vectors for creating and altering images, while Photoshop utilizes pixels. Pixels are small squares which can be customized with a variety of colors.

Photoshop allows you to zoom in on specific pixels, however, you are unable to do the same thing in Illustrator.

How To Use Adobe Illustrator For Beginners?

Apart for the benefits of adobe illustrator for photoshop users, Adobe offers a variety of courses for people who are new to Adobe Illustrator.

They offer a hands-on, practical approach, and include projects that include tips, assignments, and other projects.

Online courses are also available. They are self-paced and geared towards particular niches.

Courses that focus on tools are more beneficial than courses that focus on projects. Additionally, books are beneficial for understanding the concepts and the basics of graphic design.

Adobe Illustrator is available on both desktop computers and mobile devices.

Adobe’s Tuts+ learning portal offers numerous tutorials for no cost. You can choose one that teaches you the fundamentals of Illustrator and Illustrator, as well as shortcuts and patterns.

Or, you could opt for a paid tutorial or a video course.

Illustrator can create objects in any shape.

They are made up of two primary components, which are called a stroke and fill. Each component has distinct properties and can be modified to fit your art.

Knowing how to use these two components will help you create better results from your designs.

Illustrator has a feature called Align tool that helps to align objects.

This tool is particularly useful when working within a pre-existing layout.

Choose this tool from the Window drop-down menu and it will open up a toolbar with pictorial commands which will assist you in aligning objects.

Is Illustrator Harder Than Photoshop?

Adobe Illustrator is a complicated program that can take time to master. Once you are comfortable with the basics, you can make stunning artwork. It is easy to find online tutorials to help you start. Whether Illustrator is harder or more user-friendly is dependent on your needs and preferences.

Is Adobe Illustrator Good For Graphic Design?

There are many different kinds of graphics you can create with Illustrator. Illustrator is an advanced tool that allows you to create vector graphics. Vector graphics let you draw any object directly into the software. The advanced capabilities of the software let you create anything from logos to infographics.

Thank you for reading my post about The Benefits of Adobe Illustrator For Photoshop Users.

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